Wednesday, September 26, 2018

OK -- so your PC won't burn up if it gets infected but you may wish it had, especially if you run into Ransomware, or Hacked Accounts and eMail.

What should you do???

Well, first, even before installing Internet Security, you SHOULD BE BACKED UP. The last best chance you have in case of a hopelessly compromised machine is a Complete Restore!!! Preferably, to a Bootable Backup! Then you should install Internet Security, TWICE. See Below:

We will not cover McAfee LiveSafe, as we did last year, even though it is a good program and is FREE for those of us with Cable Internet but we will cover Windows Defender because it is both free and already installed with Windows, and it tests and works well, and is less annoying and interruptive, and also we will talk about MalwareBytes Free and Premium, because dual belt and suspenders protection is a good idea with Security Software. FYI Windows Defender automatically activates when another Security Program is not present, and deactivates when it senses one is present -- except for MalwareBytes.Why should you have MalwareBytes at all? Because it catches bad stuff differently from other Security Software, especially the worst stuff like RansomWare. Its Real Time protection is behavior based and simply does a better job at catching the bad stuff.All of the Editor's Choices are fine. Especially if you have MalwareBytes as well. By the way, MalwareBytes is the only program that will happily coexist with others!

We will also discuss the part that Bootable Backups can play in not only disaster recovery such as drive failure, but also in recovering from catastrophic infection. It is nice to have an uninfected backup of your system disk when your system disk IS INFECTED!

And I will demo a Bootable Backup.

As usual, we will take questions and deal with issues at the end of the talk.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

I get asked about what new computers are good choices to buy a lot, and I do have choices to recommend. And I have reasons for my choices. Most people, when looking for a new machine give too much weight to the initial purchase price, forgetting that over the life of the machine, there are other costs that can drive the total price a lot higher. Such as upgrades and repair.

The first thing to remember is that the Most Expensive Thing about a New Computer will be ... Replacing it.The longer your machine lasts, the cheaper it gets!

It used to be that a computer might die before it became too slow or old to use, and a desktop or laptop at 7 years old or older running Windows XP was common. That's an old computer from a hardware standpoint and likely to fail. These days the burden placed on a new machine is getting heavier so rapidly, that, unless you buy a moderately powerful computer, it is likely to be unuseable for websurfing, online purchasing or many common programs and services long before it is even 5 years old.

Buy the most powerful computer you can afford -- the difference in price may only be a few hundred dollars, but that will translate into a much longer and more useful lifespan, as well as a machine that waits for you, instead of you waiting for it.

Buy Computers with Core i7 or Core i5 Intel CPUs, instead of Core i3 or lesser processors -- they are more powerful and that makes a difference. Buy a computer with at least 8 GB of RAM or more, expandable to 32 GB or more (RAM is and will be cheap), and with at least a 1 TB Hard Drive.

One Desktop Computer I like and recommend is the Dell Vostro Desktop seen below:

Do get on a the PC Magazine, TechBargains, and ExtremeTech mailing Lists for up to date notice of good deals. Do check Dell and HP for re-furbished Grade A machines with full warranty. Do check on Amazon for computers and monitors sold by Amazon with damaged boxing.

I got my beautiful new 32" 4k Samsung 1 millisecond response time, HDR10 monitor for over a $100 off just by checking to see "Other Sellers" and choosing one with a "Damaged Box". Same warranty, same equipment.

Don't buy a monitor by checking a box on the Dell or HP webpage -- those prices are too high. Check out the Tech Bargainswebsites.

I will be giving a talk at the Kinnelon Library on this and other computers that I like this Thursday, May 23 at 7 PM. I will cover the following topics:

•What Computers Should You Buy Now?

• Tablets, Laptops, and
Desktops

•How Much Should You Pay and Where
Should You Buy Them

•What Computers Will Last the Longest
Time

•What Do You
Need if You Just Want to Surf the Web and Do Email?

And, as usual we will have Question and Answer: Ask Your Questions, Bring in Your Laptop or Device for advice.

All of you Kinnelon and North Jersey people, and everybody else, are welcome to come.

Saturday, January 20, 2018

I will be giving a talk at the Kinnelon Public Library, Wednesday, Jan 24, at 7 PM, which is the first of such talks this year, roughly a month apart, and this month it will be on the subject of Disaster Recovery!

From Lightning Strikes to Hardware Failure, What to Do

How to Plan for the Worst

What Steps to Take in Advance

How to Restore Your Working Environment

How to Protect Your Data

How to Be Up and Running again Quickly, even in Minutes

Real World Examples that Have Happened to Me! Lightning ... !

This is the Kinnelon Library's description of the talk:

"Computer Class-Wednesday, January 24 at 7:00 pm-Ted Whittemore of Kinnelon Computers returns to the Kinnelon library with his monthly computer classes.

This month he (that's me) will be talking about System Maintenance and Recovery for Win 7 thru Win 10, with the emphasis on Win 10, including Updates, Backup and License Restoration. Be the Boss, learn how to take care of your computer and tell it what to do and avoid Surprises! Bring a fully-charged laptop, if you have one. To register, or for more information, call 973-838-1321 or click on Adult Program Registration."

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Working Computers in Kinnelon, NJ

The Working Computers Blog is a creation of Ted Whittemore and Kinnelon Computers in Kinnelon, NJ, which specializes in Home and Small Business Computer Repair, including virus removal, backup, setup, software installation and repair, email configuration and repair, additional hardware configuration, and all of the things we talk about in The Working Computers Blog.

We are reachable at 973 838 2368 and ted@amgpi.com.

Ted Whittemore

I have worked in the computer services industry for 29 years in consulting and planning and in the field.